


Strip of Bacon, Slice of Life

by Enk



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-12
Updated: 2014-12-12
Packaged: 2018-03-01 03:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2758586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enk/pseuds/Enk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's between missions when they are the closest, between missions when they can indulge in small moments of happiness</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strip of Bacon, Slice of Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nausicaa82](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nausicaa82/gifts).



 

Waking up on The Bus feels good. Not that it hadn't felt good before- Phil and his band of merry agents, it had been great from the beginning, waking up to the soft hum of the modified C-17 engines at a cruising altitude without turbulence to startle him from his sleep. It was perfect, the cool wall on one side of his cot, the warm air vent on the other. On his shelf a small box, strapped in safely, with his Captain America cards. His other memorabilia lives happily in a safety deposit box in Portland just in case. At the time, he hadn't thought that anything could make this perfect balance of warm and cool sleeping conditions better. They were perfect after all.

 

He'd been wrong. He hadn't known how wrong, but he had been wrong. Waking up in the perfect balance of hot and cool doesn't beat waking up beside the warm- hot, temperature and physique- body of Steve Rogers, that's perfection. The first time Phil had woken up beside Steve, he'd thought it a dream, something that happens to other people, more important people, people in leading roles who deserved every ounce of happiness. As it turns out, he's been put up for a promotion.

 

So, the first time he woke up beside Steve had been after the man had found out Phil was still alive. All by accident to be honest, Phil had no ambitions to let the Avengers in on the things that developed out of SHIELD now. Not because he doesn't trust them, but someone would tell Stark and if Stark knew, the whole world would know. The man is as discreet as the proverbial bull in a china shop. Seeing Steve after all this time? It had very much had taken them both by surprise. Phil had not expected to end up in the same place at the same time. He remembers Steve's face, how he had dropped his shield. None of that matters now though, because now, Phil wakes up beside Steve more than he'd ever imagined he would.

 

Melinda knows, but she's the only one. It isn't as though Phil would keep that from her, not when they've been this close for this long. She'd know even if he hadn't told her- and by told her, it really was more of a she walked in on Steve and him in his office. The rest of his team, they're still clueless and that's what he wants. It's what they agreed upon before entering into this relationship: the kids don't get to find out until later. Until then, Melinda covers for them, makes sure everyone else is out of their hair and too busy to ask questions when Steve visits. Those visits are not as often as either of them would like, but these are still uncertain times.

 

Today, Phil wakes when it's still dark outside the windows of the Bus. They are on course flying into sunrise judging by the pale glow of light at the horizon. The stars are still around them in the dark of the sky. They're high above the Pacific Ocean and the air at this altitude is crystal clear. He sits up and watches the stars, the cool wall of the plane on one side, the incredibly heat radiating from a still sleeping Steve on his other. It's amazing what's happened to him over these past few months, the pain, the sacrifice, and he'd feel guilty for the happiness he feels despite the loss his team had felt. He really would, but Steve stirs awake beside him and smiles as he opens his eyes, knowing Phil is there and no one could possibly feel guilty seeing a smile like Steve's first thing in the morning.

 

"Good morning," he says quietly as he stretches.

 

"Not quite morning yet," Phil mumbles and lets himself fall back into the pillows "We still have time."

 

Morning means they're close to landing. Landing means that Steve goes back into the cargo hold and hides in a container filled with tech to be dropped off to help a group of SHIELD operatives. They think they're getting night vision goggles and scanners when really the payload is a one-man army. It also means Phil sleeps alone when night comes again. He frowns, doesn't mean to because the balance of good and evil is on the line here and the world comes before snuggling your loved one in your bed.

 

"Good," Steve smiles and turns to kiss Phil. And Phil? Well, he would be lying if he didn't melt at the gentle touch on his stomach, the soft kiss, the smile when Steve pulls away again and settles with his head on Phil's shoulder and laces their hands together.

 

They watch the stars for a long time just them and the stars and the imagined forever they don't have. Two weeks after drop off they're going to pick Steve up in Nepal. Two weeks. Anywhere else, anyone else, any normal couple, two weeks would be nothing, it would be a few longing Skype calls and a bunch of suggestive text messages until they'd be reunited. Two weeks in their field could mean torture, death, or worse. That's the nature of things, no sense crying over spilled beans, but still, every since he and Steve had found each other, there's a pang of worry that hadn't before been in Phil's heart.

 

He doesn't get to contemplate their paths for much longer because the glimmer of light at the horizon has travelled across the sky and day had settle. It's still early morning when Steve stretches and kisses Phil with a smile.

 

"Shower," he sits up and stretches, "I'm gonna be stuck in a crate for three days in the desert, I'd like to start out clean." He smiles at Phil with a wink. "Could always use some help scrubbing my back."

 

Falling back asleep isn't on the agenda and yet, Phil stretches and tells himself just a few more minutes before he joins Steve in the shower. It's the smell of strong coffee and bacon that wakes him close to an hour later. At first, he is content, until the smell coaxes him into wakefulness, which is when he remembers that Steve, breakfast, everyone else on the plane, compromised mission-

 

He's out of bed and in the commons in nothing but his bathrobe- yeah, he wears those, they're damn comfortable- a few moments later. In the commons where Steve is cooking bacon in the oven wearing nothing but a towel and wet hair.

 

“Why good morning,” he smiles and pour an extra large mug of coffee.

 

“Where's everyone else?” Phil doesn't mean to be all business, not with a mostly naked Steve Rogers in the Commons. “Did anyone see you?”

 

“Relax,” he pulls the tray of bacon and eggs from the oven, “May's got out back.”

 

“For a price.” Melinda appears, looks at them both, picks a few strips of bacon from the tray and onto a paper towel she's holding. “Half an hour sharp.”

 

“Yes, Ma'am.” Steve isn't phased by her sudden appearance and disappearance nor the fact that she just made off with half the bacon. “Don't worry, I have a second batch in the oven. Knew she'd take her dues for that technical malfunction with the doors that's keeping everyone from coming in here right now.”

 

“Got it all figured out then?” He's still a little on edge. It's risky to be this out in the open. They have to consider the mission; it's more important than their personal-

 

“Hey,” Steve wraps his arms around Phil from behind and suddenly he can't remember his train of thought. . “We're okay.”

 

“Yes,” Phil inhales Steve's scent and leans back against him as the tension leaves his body.

 

Yeah, they're okay. They're more than okay. They're perfect. They have breakfast mostly in silence. There's no need to talk. This close to mission start, it would only revert to shop talk and that's not why Steve is here, that's not who they are right now. Right now, they are Steve and Phil, Phil and Steve, two guys in love having breakfast together and that's all that matters to them.

 

The bacon and eggs disappear too fast. The half hour May had given them turns into ten minutes before they're ready. When Steve goes to change, Phil grabs his wrist and pulls him into a kiss, because it's Steve he loves, not Captain America- at least not like that- and he likes to make sure the man knows. Once Steve is in his suit, once he's Captain America, they're all business on the way to the cargo hold. That's just how it has to go. That's also why Phil is surprised when Steve stands close as Phil opens the crate, close enough to definitely invade personal space on purpose.

 

“I'll miss you,” he says with a smile before pressing a gentle kiss on the corner of Phil's lip.

 

“Coulson,” Skye jogs into the room holding a tablet, “I just have a ques-” She freezes mid-sentence, mid-motion as her eyes fall on Steve who pulls away from Phil and climbs into container with a wink and a smile. “So you and Captain America?” Skye says as she recovers from her initial shock after he closed the container and forged the access logs.

 

“That's classified.” He smiles as he walks away.

 


End file.
